University of San Francisco Athletics

Academic Eligibility:
To remain academically eligible, student-athletes must:

1. Maintain full-time status:  Student-athletes must be enrolled in a full-time (minimum 12 credit hours) program of studies to remain eligible. For this reason, student-athletes should be sure to consult their academic advisors before dropping a class.
    
2. Fulfill credit-hour requirements:  Student-athletes must satisfactorily complete at least:
    
   1. 24 credit hours before the start of their second year (or third semester) of collegiate enrollment; and
   2. 18 credit hours since the beginning of the previous fall term or since the beginning of USF’s preceding regular two semesters (excluding summer); and
   3. 6 credit hours during the preceding semester;
3. Fulfill percentage-of-degree requirements: Beginning with their third year (or fifth semester) of enrollment, student-athletes must have successfully completed a percentage of course requirements in their degree programs to remain eligible for that year. Those percentages are as follows:   
   1. Third year (or fifth semester) – 40 percent ;
   2. Fourth year (or seventh semester) – 60 percent ; and
   3. Fifth year (or ninth semester) – 80 percent 
4. Fulfill grade-point-average requirements: Student-athletes must meet the following GPA requirements:
   1. Competition eligibility:
      1. At least a 1.80 GPA for the third and fourth semesters (second year);
      2. At least a 1.90 GPA for the fifth and sixth semesters (third year); and
      3. At least a 2.00 GPA as they enter their seventh and eighth semesters (fourth year) and, if applicable, ninth and tenth semesters (fifth year).

Employment:
USF student-athletes who wish to seek employment must complete the Student-Athlete Employment form (Available on JumpForward and the Compliance Office) and have their employment approved by the Compliance Office. The Student-Athlete Employment form requires the student-athlete and their employers to review and confirm their understanding of the rules surrounding student-athlete employment. The rules are summarized as follows:

• Compensation may not include any payment for value or utility that the student-athlete may have for the employer because of the publicity, reputation, fame, or other personal following that s/he has obtained because of athletics;
• Compensation may only be provided for work actually and already performed; and
• Compensation must be at a rate commensurate with the going rate in the locality for similar services.

Additionally, a student-athlete may receive compensation for teaching or giving lessons in his or her sport. To do this, the following conditions must be met:

• USF facilities cannot be used;
• Lessons must consist of more than simply playing against or with the student-athlete;
• Documentation of the lessons must be on file with the Compliance Office (by completing the fee for lesson form);
• Compensation for the lessons must be paid by the lesson recipient or his/her family and not another individual or entity; and
• The student-athlete must not use his or her name, picture, or appearance to advertise the lessons.

Athletics Participation Outside of USF:
NCAA legislation regulates USF student-athlete participation with non-USF teams or as individuals (and not associated with USF teams).
Limits on outside team participation

• Competition: Student-athletes are not permitted to participate in any competition on an outside team during the student-athlete’s declared NCAA playing season. Any such competition will result in the loss of a student-athlete's eligibility at USF for the remainder of the current (if applicable) and following academic years. 
• Practice: Student-athletes may be permitted to practice on an outside team; however, there may be limits on the number of student-athletes from USF who may participate on any one outside team.

Limits on individual competition
Student-athletes are permitted to compete as individuals at any time. Competition as an individual means the student-athlete is using his or her own equipment and apparel and is paying his or her own travel and entry expenses. It also means the student-athlete is not receiving coaching from a USF coach during the competition.
Every sport has specific regulations and/or exceptions that relate to student-athletes participation in non-USF activities throughout the academic year and summer. Student-athletes must consult and receive approval from the Compliance Office and their head coach before engaging in any non-USF competition.

Amateurism:
All USF student-athletes must maintain their amateur status – as that term is defined under NCAA legislation – to be eligible to participate in collegiate athletics. Among other things, NCAA amateurism legislation places limitations or absolute prohibitions relating to the following areas:

• Entering into a contract with, receiving benefits from, or being represented by an agent; 
• Receiving a salary or other compensation for participating in athletics;
• Entering contracts with a professional team;
• Receiving impermissible sources or types of funding for athletics participation;
• Participating in tryouts, practices, or competitions with a professional team;
• Accepting prize money and other performance-based payments; and

The bottom line – before USF student-athletes participate with any team outside of USF, sign any document relating to participation in athletics, or agree to accept payment or funding relating to athletics, they need to check with the Compliance Office to determine whether they are jeopardizing their collegiate eligibility.

Practice Hours:
NCAA legislation limits the number of hours that student-athletes can engage in “countable athletically related activities” (CARAs) during the academic year. Any athletically related activity is countable if it is not “voluntary,” as that term is defined under NCAA legislation. For an activity to be voluntary (and not countable), all of the following conditions must be met:

• The activity must be initiated and requested solely by the student-athlete;
• Countable coaches, volunteer coaches, graduate assistant coaches, undergraduate assistant coaches, and/or other sport-specific noncoaching staff members (e.g., directors of operation) cannot be in attendance;
• There can be no required reporting of any information related to the activity back to a coach or other athletics department staff member;
• Attendance and participation in the activity may not be recorded for the purposes of reporting such information to coaching staff members or other student-athletes; and
• Lack of participation in the activity cannot be penalized (nor can attendance be incentivized). 

NCAA practice hours rules:
NCAA Bylaw 17 contains the legislation relating to “playing and practice seasons,” including all of the limits that are placed on practice hours. Much of the legislation is sport-specific and there are numerous exceptions to the general rules (which are explained below). 
Practice hour limits depend on whether a team is in its declared playing season. Declarations of playing seasons are submitted to and maintained by the Compliance Office. 
During the declared playing season:

• No more than 20 hours of CARAs in a week;
• No more than four hours of CARAs in a day;
• Must have one calendar day off from CARA each week; and
• No CARAs after a competition (e.g., student-athletes cannot be required to run after a loss).

Outside the declared playing season (during the academic year)

• No more than 8 hours of countable athletically related activities each week. Whether an activity is permissible depends on the sport:
  • weight training, conditioning, and skill instruction.
• No more than 4 hours of skill instruction in a week.
• Must have two calendar days off from CARAs and each week.
• CARAs and are prohibited one week before the beginning of final exams until their conclusion.

Practice Hour Logs:
Through JumpForward, student-athletes are randomly selected to verify and comment about coaches’ practice hours log submissions to the Compliance Office. Coaches are not informed regarding which student-athletes are selected or the manner in which any specific student-athlete responded during the verification process. Student-athletes can login to College.JumpForward.com to review logs.

Impermissible Benefits:
Although NCAA legislation specifically defines and categorizes different types of impermissible benefits (e.g., extra benefits and preferential treatment), the prohibition is generally the same: under most circumstances, student-athletes cannot receive goods or services based on their status as student-athletes. 
The following are examples of benefits that student-athletes are not permitted to receive:  

• Cash and cost-free goods and services;
• Special discounts, payment arrangements, or credit options for products or services if the same is not available to all USF students;
• Preferential treatment, benefits, or services based on a student-athlete’s athletics reputation, skill, or pay-back potential as a future professional athlete;
• Payment for work not performed or at unreasonable levels; and
• The purchase of items or services from student-athletes or their relatives at inflated prices.

Student-athletes who receive such benefits jeopardize their eligibility to compete in intercollegiate athletics.

Name, Image, and Likeness:
In accordance with NCAA regulations, a student-athlete in any sport may profit off of their name, image, and likeness (NIL). Student-Athletes may now engage in NIL activity, starting July 1, 2021, without it impacting their eligibility.
However, certain types of contracts are still prohibited under the NIL Legislation and University policy:

• Compensation for work not performed. You must be completing a contract obligation to receive payment.
• Compensation contingent upon enrollment at a particular school. 
• Compensation for athletic participation or achievement. Athletic performance may enhance a student-athlete’s NIL value, but athletic performance may not be the “consideration” for NIL compensation.
• Use of the University of San Francisco logo without approval. If the contract contemplates using the USF logo, contact the Athletics Compliance office to obtain approval. If you sign a contract with an organization that conflicts with USF branding deals (Nike & Coca-Cola) you cannot wear USF gear or use campus facilities for that endorsement.

• Agreements involving, promoting or relating to weapons, bars, nightclubs, cannabis, sports wagering, controlled substances, pornography, professional sports teams, and tobacco.

Sports Wagering Activities:
NCAA legislation prohibits USF student-athletes and staff members from gambling or wagering on any sport (amateur, professional, or otherwise) in which the NCAA conducts a championship or bowl game. The legislation defines wagering as any arrangement in which an individual agrees to give up an anything of value (e.g., cash, shirt, meal) in exchange for the possibility of gaining another thing of value. Thus, the NCAA gambling prohibition would apply pools or fantasy leagues that require fees to enter and provide entrants opportunities to win prizes or money. Additionally, USF student-athletes and staff members are prohibited from:

• Providing any information (e.g., reports concerning team morale, game plans, or injuries to team members) to individuals involved in organized gambling activities (including informal pools) concerning intercollegiate athletics.
• Engaging in any activities designed to illegally influence the outcome of an intercollegiate contest (e.g., point-shaving).

An individual’s failure to abide by this legislation can result serious penalties such as permanent ineligibility for student-athletes and loss of employment for staff members.

Transfer Information:
A student-athlete who wants to contact other schools regarding transferring must submit a notification of intent to transfer to the Compliance Office. Once received, the Compliance Office has two business days to add the student-athlete’s information into a national transfer database accessible by other college coaches.
Until this process is complete it is impermissible for USF student-athletes to communicate directly or indirectly (e.g., through former coaches) with other coaches.
Please note that if a student-athlete places their name onto the NCAA transfer portal they have 24 hours to remove their name, or the institution can immediately cancel their athletic aid. The student-athlete will continue to receive aid until the completion of the current term.